April 25, 2005

WORCESTER, Mass. -- A judge in Worcester is hearing a bid from the accused killer of pedophile priest John Geoghan to have the charges dismissed.

Joseph Druce claims prison officials retaliated against him by denying him access to his lawyer and removing legal documents from his cell. Druce says that made it impossible for him to participate in his own defense.

An official at the Sousa-Baranowski Correctional Center told the judge Monday that there was no retaliation against Druce and that prison policies were what prevented him from having a private visit with his attorney.

Druce -- already a convicted murderer -- is accused of beating and strangling Geoghan at the prison in August 2003. The defrocked priest was serving a nine- to 10-year sentence for fondling a boy.